Make Your Wish List for the February Workshop

by Elaine Ruddock, Education Manager

For some people, December is a time of great hustle and bustle, so why should it be different for me as the Education Manager? February is our annual workshop, so December is the time when a decision has to be reached about a topic and speaker. This is the step that makes or breaks a workshop, and we want to ensure that it is a success.

In the past, many topic and speaker suggestions have come from you, our members, which is why our workshops have been such great educational successes. Over the last few years, we've covered such topics as: Managing Documentation Projects (Joann Hackos, 1998), Secrets of a Successful Website (Ginny Redish, 2001), and Goal-Oriented Design (Kim Goodwin, 2002). With your help again, February's workshop should be no exception to this series of hits.

Some of you have already suggested these topics:

• Single sourcing
• Planning, estimating, and managing documentation projects
• Developing training courses
• Editing technical documents
• Documenting APIs and SDKs
• Discovering emerging technologies and tools -- a series of short sessions (feel free to suggest desired tools)
• Writing technical marketing materials / Marcom writing

Now I need to find out which of these topics interests you, or what other topics you might find interesting. There's still time.

To indicate your interest in a topic, you can either go to the home page of our website www.stc-soc.org and complete our poll, or you can e-mail me, Elaine Ruddock, at education@stc-soc.org

Have you heard about any great speakers? Send me their names and any additional information that you might have; for example, their web address and contact information.

Don't get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the month that you forget to send me your suggestions or vote online. Details must be confirmed in December, so hurry in with your suggestions today! Don't miss this opportunity to make your own wish list.